Nguyen has done an exceptional job in first term as Tarrant County commissioner

Tarrant County Commissioner Andy Nguyen’s back story, growing up in a war-ravaged Vietnam and eventually coming to the United States and starting a successful business, is the kind that Hollywood loves to tell.

But Nguyen, who represents southeast Tarrant County on the commissioners court, has been focused on the present and the plight of others more than dwelling on the past and his personal successes.

He says God gave him the “passion to serve,” which is what he has been trying to do since coming to America and especially since being elected county commissioner for Precinct 2 four years ago.

Nguyen, who has been very involved in Arlington, Mansfield, Kennedale and the other communities of his precinct, said he sold the largest division of his company (the hardware sector) so he could devote more time as commissioner.

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He has racked up achievements that he stresses were “team efforts” with other stakeholders.

Among those accomplishments are the plan to complete expansion of Texas 360 to better serve South Arlington and Mansfield; partnering with the Arlington school district to battle truancy through prevention measures beginning in elementary schools; collaborating with senior centers, Catholic Charities and others to address the transportation needs of senior citizens and at-risk youths; and working with Tarrant County Public Health to assist in managing the 2012 West Nile outbreak.

His opponent in the March 4 Republican primary is H. Suzanne Kelley, a special education teacher at Arlington High School, whose résumé includes an impressive amount of community involvement over the past 20 years, including the Arlington Parks and Recreation Board and the Arlington Special Transportation Advisory Board. She has been on the steering committee of Leadership Arlington and a member of the Junior League, Rotary Club and League of Women Voters.

Her website says she wants better oversight of the commissioners court’s half-billion-dollar budget.

While Kelley appears to be a committed and hard-working member of her community, Nguyen has chalked up an impeccable record on the court and still has a long list of issues he is working on for the people of his district and the county as a whole.